Photo: Nigel Mykura · CC BY-SA 2.0Among UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Woolavington records more crime per resident than 90%
Of all the kinds of crime, violent crime is where Woolavington departs most from towns its size: 39.2 per 1,000 against 16.6. Violence recorded locally climbed 17% in a year.
Crimes and reports per 1,000 residents (Census 2021) a year, September 2023 to August 2026.
What stands out about safety in Woolavington
Violent crime rose over the year
In the 12 months to August 2026 police recorded 17% more violent crime per resident in Woolavington than in the year before; across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people violent crime held steady. Trend ↓
More crime than many places its size
Of 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Woolavington has the 484th lowest rate of graded crime: lower than Fishburn, Bettws and Llanfoist, higher than Streethay, Darenth and Godstone. Towns its size ↓
Written from the police.uk and government data on this page. Figures are crimes police recorded, not convictions.
How Woolavington comes out at C−
A fairly firm grade. Built on 339 graded crimes over three years. The grade adds violent and sexual offences and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident and ranks Woolavington against every UK town of 1,000 or more.
Per resident, against all UK towns; beside it, how it compares with towns its size.
Police in Woolavington identify a suspect more often than across UK towns
No suspect was identified for 5% of Woolavington’s burglaries, vehicle crimes and criminal damage, against 69% across UK towns, and for 2% of violent and sexual offences against 19%. Most violent cases close as “unable to prosecute” (67% here), usually because the victim doesn’t support a prosecution. About 9% of violent and 0% of household crimes reached court.
The latest outcome police.uk shows for each crime recorded in the first of the three years (September 2023 to August 2024), so most cases have closed. 108 crimes.
What police recorded in the last 12 months
Against the typical town its size, Woolavington runs highest on violence & sexual offences (39.2 per 1,000 against 16.6), anti-social behaviour (9.9 per 1,000 against 5.3) and criminal damage & arson (5.6 per 1,000 against 3.2).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Reports | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violence & sexual offences | Violent | 91 | 39.2 | 16.6 |
| Anti-social behaviour | not graded | 23 | 9.9 | 5.3 |
| Criminal damage & arson | Home & vehicle | 13 | 5.6 | 3.2 |
| Shoplifting | not graded | 10 | 4.3 | 0 |
| Public order | not graded | 8 | 3.4 | 2.4 |
| Other theft | not graded | 7 | 3 | 2.5 |
| Burglary | Home & vehicle | 7 | 3 | 1.6 |
| Vehicle crime | Home & vehicle | 4 | 1.7 | 1.5 |
| Robbery | Violent | 3 | 1.3 | 0 |
| Drugs | not graded | 2 | 0.9 | 0.6 |
| Other crime | not graded | 2 | 0.9 | 1.1 |
| Possession of weapons | Violent | 1 | 0.4 | 0 |
| Bicycle theft | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Theft from the person | not graded | 0 | 0 | 0 |
“Violent” is police.uk’s violence and sexual offences (which includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury), robbery and possession of weapons. Anti-social behaviour isn’t a crime category; shoplifting and other theft happen mostly in shops and town centres rather than to residents, so neither counts in the grade.
September 2025 to August 2026, per 1,000 residents. The tick on each bar is the typical (median) town among UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people.
Woolavington is 484th of 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000
| # | Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Shops & theft | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richhill Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 2,738 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 3 | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 57 | Tatworth Somerset | 2,287 | 11.7 | 5 | 2.2 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 97 | Merriott Somerset | 2,068 | 12.9 | 6 | 7.3 | A |
| … | ||||||
| 197 | Coleford Somerset | 2,235 | 17.5 | 6.9 | 5.1 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 201 | Timsbury Somerset | 2,506 | 18.8 | 5.9 | 10.5 | B+ |
| … | ||||||
| 481 | Streethay Staffordshire | 2,166 | 37.3 | 10.6 | 9.1 | C− |
| 482 | Darenth Kent | 2,588 | 28.6 | 19.3 | 38.6 | C− |
| 483 | Godstone Surrey | 2,648 | 28.7 | 19.8 | 5.8 | C− |
| 484 | Woolavington Somerset | 2,324 | 37.7 | 10.9 | 9.8 | C− |
| 485 | Loddon Norfolk | 2,247 | 38.6 | 10.5 | 9.2 | C− |
| 486 | Silloth Cumbria | 2,542 | 40.5 | 9.4 | 6 | C− |
| 487 | Goodwick Dyfed | 2,017 | 37.9 | 12.1 | 4.8 | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 550 | Avonmouth Bristol | 2,643 | 82.9 | 54.6 | 60.4 | D− |
Safety letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only.
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, September 2023 to August 2026, counting from the least: towns ranked near Woolavington, and others in Somerset.
How crime in Woolavington has moved
“Towns its size” pools all UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people that police.uk covers each month (Greater Manchester has no data).
Rolling twelve-month rate, per 1,000 residents a year (longer windows for smaller places, where a few crimes swing a month). In the 12 months to August 2026 against the 12 before: violent +17% (towns its size +3%), homes and vehicles -23% (towns its size +0%), shoplifting and theft -48% (towns its size +4%).
Crime in Woolavington per 1,000 residents
A crime isn’t a victim: one person can report several, and crimes in a town centre often involve visitors rather than residents.
And about 10 burglaries, vehicle crimes or acts of criminal damage, plus 7 shoplifting and theft reports, in the 12 months to August 2026. Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded crime.
No one died in a collision on Woolavington’s roads in 2021–2025
Police recorded 8 collisions with injuries inside Woolavington in five years. 4 people were killed or seriously injured: 0 on foot and 0 on a bicycle.
Most UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people (94%) had no road deaths in these five years, and Woolavington is one of them.
Counting serious injuries too, a town of Woolavington’s size at the median for UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people would see about 1 people killed or seriously injured in five years; Woolavington had 4.
Casualties are counted where the collision happened, not where people lived: a main road through town adds through-traffic, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Seriously injured uses the Department for Transport’s adjusted figures, which even out the police forces’ different ways of recording injuries. There’s no national rate here: more than half of road deaths in England and Wales (58%) happen outside every town’s built-up area. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), 2021–2025.
Collisions police recorded inside Woolavington’s built-up area, 2021–2025. Described here; not part of the Safety Grade.
Crime in the places around Woolavington
| Town | People | Violent | Homes & vehicles | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woolavington | 2,324 | 37.7 | 10.9 | C− |
| Puriton | 2,265 | 19.6 | 6 | B+ |
| Bridgwater | 47,846 | 76.8 | 18.9 | D− |
| Westonzoyland | 1,463 | 19.4 | 4.8 | B+ |
| Highbridge | 5,366 | 82.7 | 18 | D− |
| Wembdon | 1,772 | 9 | 5.6 | A |
| Burnham-on-Sea | 16,317 | 39.9 | 10.3 | C− |
| Cannington | 2,315 | 20.5 | 5.8 | B+ |
Woolavington records more graded crime per resident than 4 of its 7 neighbours. Puriton, 1.6 miles away, records 19.6 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Woolavington’s 37.7.
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three years. Tap a town for its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Where crimes happen, not where victims live. police.uk places each crime at a point near where it happened. Town centres with shops, stations, a hospital and nightlife record more crime per resident, and residents of nearby villages who come in to shop or go out are part of that count.
- Bigger towns record more per resident. Across UK towns, recorded crime per resident rises steeply with size, more than in the U.S., so a city’s grade sits low against the whole UK. The “towns its size” figures show where Woolavington sits among towns like it; they are context and don’t change the grade.
- Points are approximate. police.uk moves each point to the nearest of a set of anonymous map points, so crimes near the edge of the built-up area can fall either side of it.
Questions about safety in Woolavington
Is Woolavington safe?
Police recorded 37.7 violent and sexual offences and 10.9 burglaries, vehicle crimes and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year over the three years to August 2026 (police.uk, inside Woolavington’s built-up area). That earns a C− for safety: less crime per resident than 23% of UK towns. Among 550 UK towns of 2,000 to 3,000 people, Woolavington is 484th from the least crime.
Is crime going up in Woolavington?
In the 12 months to August 2026, against the 12 months before, violent crime rose 17%, burglary, vehicle crime and damage fell 23%, shoplifting and theft fell 48% and anti-social behaviour rose 28%. Across UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, violent crime held steady.
What is the most common crime in Woolavington?
Violence & sexual offences: 91 in the 12 months to August 2026, which in police.uk includes harassment, stalking and assault without injury. Next came criminal damage & arson (13) and shoplifting (10), with 23 reports of anti-social behaviour.
How does Woolavington compare with Bridgwater?
Bridgwater records 76.8 violent and sexual offences and 18.9 crimes against homes and vehicles per 1,000 residents a year, against Woolavington’s 37.7 and 10.9, over the same three years.
Sources: data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation 2025, crime domain by LSOA (residents from ONS Census 2021) · Department for Transport road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions 2021–2025, points inside the built-up-area boundary · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.